Venetian blind



March 17, 1942. c. .1. CARDONA VENETIAN' BLIND 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 17, 1941 642403 m 642mm,

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

March 17, 1942.- c. J. CARDONA VENETIAN BLIND 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 17, 1941 INVENTOR r i ATTORNEY.

6414205 U. 64/?00A/A,

Patented Mar. 17, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VENETIAN BLIND Carlos J. Cardona, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application March 17, 1941, Serial No. 383,709 (01. 156-17) 3 Claims.

The-present invention relates to improvements in the construction, assembly and operation of Veneti'an'blinds and is particularly directed toward fittings and suspension brackets adapted to permit the raising, lowering and tilting of the blind without the use of chains, gearings or cords. Moreover, the present invention is directed toward a suspension bracket and tilting mechanism which is compact and which may be concealed by the usual valance or fascia. The device is inexpensive and sturdy. I

Heretofore Venetian blinds have been raised and lowered by the operation of various cords or actuating lines which are relatively unsightly. Additional cords or lines depended from the supporting members at the top of the blind and these had to be actuated in order to tilt the slats at a desirable angle. The present invention eliminates all such lines and cords and permits the housewife or operator to raise and lower the blind by simply grasping the bottom rail of the blind in much the same manner as an ordinary roller shade is raised or lowered. The angle of inclination of the various slats may be changed by performing the same operation as that used for raising orlowering except that the movement of the bottom slat should be relatively small and sharp.

An object of the present invention, therefore, is to disclose and provide a simple, relatively inexpensive, spring-actuated Venetian blind supporting and actuating mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to disclose and provide a Venetian blind suspension in which the angular adjustment of the slats is performed by a minor movement of the bottom slat or rail of the blind..

These and other objects, uses, advantages and adaptations of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, reference being had to the appended drawings illustrating an exemplary form of the invention.

-In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a Venetian-type blind made in accordance with one form of the present invention.

Fig.2 is an enlarged elevation of ne of the supporting brackets.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the bracket shown in Fig. 2.

Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are transverse sections taken along the planes IV--IV, V--V, VIVI and VII VII respectively of Fig. 3.

Figs. 8 and 9 are side and end views of a portion of the device, in modified form whereby the spring may be wound up after the device is installed.

In common with all Venetian blinds, the blind of this invention includes a plurality of slats I, 2, 3, etc., which may be connected together by means of a suitable ladder tape or tapes. In Fig. 1 a tape is shown on the rear of the blind at 4 and another one on the front of the blind at 5. The blind also includes a bottom rail 6 preferably provided with a hand grip I. The slats I, 2, 3, etc., may be made of wood, metal or any other suitable composition and may be either flat or curved. Thebottom rail 6 may be an enlarged slat or it may be an independent member. In Fig. 1 the blind is shown attached to an upper plate member 8 having a fascia 9. It is to be understood that instead of employing a separate plate member 8,.the supporting brackets may be attached directly to the window frame or other structural portion forming a part of or closely adjacent to the window or, opening to be equipped with a Venetian blind.

In Fig. 2 the fascia 9 has been partly broken away so as to show the supporting bracket and arrangement at one end of the upper portion of the blind. A similar bracket and arrangement are used at the opposite end of the blind or in the event the blind is very wide, a third bracket may be arranged at a position intermediate the sides or ends of the blind.

By referring to Figs. 2 to 5 inclusive, it will be seen that the supporting bracket Ill includes a supporting base H and a cylindrical housing 12. The base plate 'll may be attached directly to the window sill or to a plate member 8. A rotatable shaft extends through the housing. In the drawings, the shaft comprises a square or polygonal bar l3 carrying a sleeve I4 which is journaled in the side walls of the housing l2. The housing l2 may be provided with a removable cover plate IS in any suitable way so as to make the cover plate stationary. A winding spring I 6 is contained within the housing l2. One end of the winding spring I6 is preferably attached to the bracket and the other end is attached to the sleeve M. In order to facilitate assembly, the sleeve l4 may be provided with a slot adapted to receive one end of the spring as indicated at H, whereas the wall of the housing It may be provided with another slit in which the other end of the spring indicated at l8.

' In order to prevent uncontrolled unwinding,

it may be held, as

2|, 22 and 23 may be loosely pivoted on the interior surface of a circular carrier 24 mounted upon the end of sleeve I4, the sleeve I4 and rod l3 constituting a shaft. The detent of the ratchet 28 faces upwardly so that the pawls 2|, 22 and 23 may drop into engagement with the detent of the ratchet under the influence of gravity.

A tilting spider is frictionally journaled on this shaft or surrounds such shaft to permit rotation of the spider about the shaft as an axis. In the specific embodiment shown, one wall of the housing I2 is provided with a, collar portion 21 in which the sleeve l4 may be journaled. A tilting spider 28 is journaled on the collar 21, said tilting spider being provided with two diametrically opposed arms extending in directions parallel to the axis of the shaft as, for example, the arms 29 and 30. These arms 29 and 30 engage the longitudinal edges of the top slat of the blind. Said top slat may be transversely moved so as to extend around the shaft or rod I3. In the embodiment specifically illustrated the top slat is composed of two curved metal plates 32 and 33 adapted to loosely encircle the spline shaft or rod l3. The upper ends of the ladder tapes 4 and are connected to the arms 29 and 30 and therefore move with the longitudinal edges of the top slat, the inclination of the lower slats, such as the slats I, 2 and 3, being thereby controlled by the position of the spider 28 around the main shaft.

In order to raise or lower the blind, araising and lowering tape 36 is provided, said raising and lowering tape being connected to the bottom rail v65 at one end and to a spool 31 at the other end. The spool 31 is mounted upon the spline shaft l3 preferably in such position that the relatively narrow raising and lowering tape 36 is concealed beneath or masked by the ladder tapes 4 and 5.

In order to maintain the raising and lowering tape 36 (which may be made of flexible metal, cloth or in the form of a cable), longitudinally extending guide pins 38 and 39 may extend from the supporting bracket In so as to center the tape 36. The pins 38 and 39 may be provided with rotatable sleeves so as to eliminate friction between the tape and the guiding pins as much as possible.

A suitable frictional drag may be exerted upon the tilting spider 28 by mounting a friction disc 48 in position to contact the face of the spider 28, such disc or washer being made of fibre or other suitable material and pressed against the spider by means of a washer or presser plate 4| having a spring 42 bearing thereagainst, said spring being held between a flange of the spool or pulley 31 and the presser plate 4|. The friction disc 46 and the presser plate 4| may be 7 either journaled or mounted upon the spline shaft 3 but preferably both the washer and the presser plate are longitudinally movable upon the spline shaft l3. It is to be understood that the spider 28 is also longitudinally movable upon the collar 21.

In order to prevent uncontrolled rotation of the spider 28. a stop or stops 44 and 45 may be provided on the bracket l0, these stops being adapted to engage the arms of the spider so as to establish maximum degrees of inclination of the slats of the blind.

It is to be understood that the arrangement described hereinabove is duplicated at the other side edge of the blind and, as previously stated,

an additional supporting bracket together with its spool and raising and lowering tape may be carried by the spline shaft l3 at an intermediate point or points.

In actual operation, after the blind has been installed, the operator may lower the blind by simply grasping the bottom rail 6 and pulling such rail downwardly. By slowly releasing the downward pull, it will be found that one of the plurality of pawls 2|, 22 or 23 willfall into the detent of the ratchet 20, thereby holding the blind in a desired lowered position. If it is now desired tochange the inclination of the slats, the operator may grasp the lower .rail 6 and by giving it a gentle tug of relatively small amplitude, the rotation of the spline shaft |3 will be transmitted to some extent to the spider 28,. the extent of such rotation depending upon the amplitude of the tug delivered to the spline shaft by the manipulation of the lower rail 6. In most instances, it will be found that when the blind is lowered, the spider 28 would have been rotated to an extreme position so that one of the arms thereof is in contact with the stop 44 or 45. Subsequent minor movement or pull of the base rail 6 will cause a different pawl to engage the ratchet 20 and will simultaneously cause. slippage between the spider 28 and its frictional connection with the spline shaft l3, thereby progressively changing the inclination of the slats. This manipulation of the base rail is continued until the desired angular position of the slats is produced.

In the form of device hereinabove described, the spring l6 was wound when the device was assembled and before installation in a home or window. Figs. 8 and 9 refer to a modification which simplifies assembly and permits the spring to be wound up after the device is installed. The

spool 31 (which carries the tape 36) may be loosely mounted on a sleeve rotatable with the spline shaft l3. The spool 31 is provided with a flange having an internal serrated surface 50, the serrations having faces which abut the end of a stiff spring 5| held by the sleeve 52. After the device is installed, when the blind is fully extended, downward movement of the tape 36 will cause the sleeve 52' and spline shaft l3 to wind up the spring l6. To further wind the spring, it is only necessary to grasp the spool 31 and manually turn it so as to raise the blind, thereby when the blind is again lowered, further winding of the spring l6 takes place.

Although particular forms of devices have been described in detail hereinabove, it is to be understood that numerous modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention herein defined. All changes and modifications coming within the scope of the appended claims are embraced thereby.

I claim:

1. An improved Venetian blind including a plurality of slats connected by ladder tapes, comprising: a pair of supporting brackets, each thereof including a housing, a shaft extending through said housing and a winding spring therein, said spring having its ends connected to the housing and shaft; a stationary ratchet, and pawls mounted on a carrier rotatable with said shaft and adapted to gravitationally engage the ratchet; a tilting spider journaled on said shaft, friction means between said shaft and spider, a top slat having its longitudinal edges connected to the tilting spider and a spool carried by the shaft for rotation therewith; and a raising and lowering tape carried by the spool and extending through the slats to the bottom rail of the blind.

2. An improved Venetian blind including a plurality of slats connected by ladder tapes, comprising: a pair of supporting brackets, each thereof including a housing, a shaft extending through said housing, and a winding spring therein, said spring having its ends connected to the housing and shaft, a tilting spider journaled on said shaft, friction means between said shaft and spider, a top slat having its longitudinal edges connected to the tilting spider, and a spool carried by the shaft for rotation therewith; and a raising and lowering tape carried by the spool and extending through the slats to the bottom rail of the blind.

3. An improved Venetian blind including a plurality of slats connected by ladder tapes, comprising: a pair of supporting brackets, each thereof including a housing, a shaft extending through said housing, and a winding spring therein, said spring having its ends connected to the housing and shaft; a tilting spider journaled on said shaft, friction means between said shaft and spider, a top slat having its longitudinal edges connected to the tilting spider and a spool carried by the shaft for rotation therewith; a raising and lowering tape carried by the spool and extending through the slats to the bottom rail of the blind; and an escapement between said shaft and tilting spider.

CARLOS J. CARDONA. 

